Words are a powerful thing…I think that most of us have heard about the power of words at one point or another in some degree. Have you ever stopped to think about the difference words have made in your life; somebody saying one simple phrase and having it stick with you for the rest or your life? If it was a positive or negative phrase is irrelevant, the important thing is that you remember it, and because it stayed alive in your mind, and stirred some type of feeling, it’s power came to life, when it influenced who you are.
Words can do the same thing to the masses. Words are what make people fear, argue, agree, or ignore. The way words are spoken, the connotations of the words used, the jargon that is given out freely by the media. Words can also inspire an entire group, generation, or nation. Look at the influence of all of the different ways words are delivered, from the nightly news to the newest song played on the radio. The words that we surround ourselves with have a big influence on who we are. Having the right words at the right time can be amazingly powerful, you can change someone’s day, or outlook on life, or start a revolution by influencing the masses and convincing them that it’s time for change. Change comes through words. This philosophy is demonstrated and and pondered in the book that I’m currently reading, Ender’s Game. Like 1984 and The Giver, the book uses some sci-fi type qualities to make some very real, current, and relevant points to our world today. Think about how long books and poems stay alive in circulations, in libraries, in homes, in classrooms, etc….continuously being interpreted and influencing people. Or at least some books are treated with that reverence….some are never even published. It’s all about having the right words for the right group at the right time. Some people have a gift for writing that reaches many people over centuries, generation after generation, the words are valued. But this gift is rare….
Think about how revolutions throughout history have began…with words. There is always someone from an intelligent and more experienced group that rallies the masses with WORDS. Pamphlets, speeches, songs, whatever it takes to spread a common message and influences the masses that are needed to really make a difference. If the numbers aren’t there than the intelligence is just going to stay an idea in one person’s mind and maybe be discussed on a rare night when nothing else is happening….but it never goes beyond the circle and into the masses if it’s not delivered at the right time.
Word choice is extremely important if you want to use your words to control, then they need to be considered with all of the connotations(associations) as well as the denotations(definition) that come along with words. The media has a lot of control over the masses because of their word choice. The media has the power to scare or reassure with pretty much any story that they put on television or run in the paper. Either way, word choice is key.
The internet makes the spread of words amazingly fast…we have advanced now to the spread of video. In a matter of minutes an entire school with have a video clip that someone took on their cell phone of some unfortunate or fortunate student or teacher…..Think about how many people from different backgrounds, cultures, and countries read the same passages on the Internet….even this blog is read across the world…which is amazing, at least to me.
Words are very powerful things, they can be used to inspire or knock down….the thing about words, especially the written word, once it’s out there, it’s almost impossible, if not completely impossible to ever get them out of circulation, out of people’s minds, especially with the wonderful world wide web.